Who is Hello Kitty?

She’s an anthropomorphic cartoon cat that appears on household objects, clothes, accessories, or anything you can think of. Hello Kitty first appeared in 1974 on a small, clear vinyl coin purse, directed to tweens and little girls. Everyone started to see her as a cute image, even adults. Her fans saw her as a fashion icon, allowing her creator to make more clothing. With more clothes and items being released from trendy stores, her popularity grew.

Hello Kitty is a symbol of friendship, kindness, family, and educational values. This is shown in movies, shows, and YouTube videos. There are toasters, waffle makers, keys, rice cookers, etc. Some countries like Japan have a theme park dedicated to her, stores, and even cafes.

“People go for her because of her cute personality and how she matches people’s favorite colors,” said Lincoln Noble, sophomore.

Hello Kitty isn’t a cat, to tell you the truth. Her creator, Yuko Shimizu, stated she’s not a cat but a little girl and she’s not Japanese, she’s British. She has an actual pet that’s a cat named Charmy Kitty. So that explains the whole hoax and suspicion they had in 2013 where they didn’t know she was a little girl. Hello Kitty has many other new and old friends like Kuromi, and My Melody, Kerropi, Cinnamon Roll, Pompompurin, and Chococat. They appear on clothing and various items, too, just like Hello Kitty.

“They go for her because some people like her for her cute color scheme,” said Mick Hastings, freshman.

But the main question is: Why do adults, kids, and teens identify themselves with Hello Kitty? I find Hello Kitty to be a cute icon and someone I’m inspired by. She’s someone I wanna be when I grow up to be positive and happy with family and relationships.

“People love Hello Kitty because of how cute and how big of a fashion icon she is, and people love trendy-ness they go with her for cute outfits and styles,” said Vincent Hart, freshman.

Everyone either hates or likes her but she’s just really popular. One of her quotes which is my favorite is, “What makes you different makes you beautiful.”